A team of astronomers is now looking for Dyson Spheres, massive star-scale solar power plants that extraterrestrial hunters hope alien civilizations employ

In 1960, mathematician, physicist, and all-around genius Freeman Dyson predicted that every civilization in the Universe eventually runs out of energy on its home planet, provided it survives long enough to do so. Dyson argued that this event constitutes a major hurdle in a civilization's evolution, and that all those who leap over it do so in precisely the same way: they build a massive collector of starlight, a shell of solar panels to surround their home star. Astronomers have taken to calling these theoretical megastructures Dyson Spheres. Dyson's insight may seem like nothing more than a thought experiment, but if his hypothesis is sound, it has a striking implication: if you want to find advanced alien civilizations, you should look for signs of Dyson Spheres.

Last month a trio of astronomers led by Penn State's Jason Wright began a two-year search for Dyson Spheres, a search that will span the Milky Way, along with millions of other galaxies. Their project was just awarded a sizable grant from the Templeton Foundation, a philanthropic organization that funds research on the "big questions" that face humanity, questions relating to "human purpose and ultimate reality."

I would think that if there were aliens in the vicinity that advanced we would have picked up EM transmissions from them by now. I believe there is life out there but one thing that troubles me is why haven’t we picked up their version of survivor or dancing with the stars. Or have we............

That massive array of collectors seems to be a nutty idea. If a civilization could build such an extensive assembly, it seems it would require massive amounts of raw materials. Ejecting so much mass from the planet would seem to lessen the mass of their home planet, maybe enough to alter its orbit, it’s weather, it’s time calculations and its long-term prospects. My guess is that all good environmentalists seek skittles-pooping unicorns whose magical waste is an energy source as well as a tasty snack.

I would think that if there were aliens in the vicinity that advanced we would have picked up EM transmissions from them by now. I believe there is life out there but one thing that troubles me is why havent we picked up their version of survivor or dancing with the stars. Or have we............

The SETI project has been looking for signals from nearby stars that exhibit some non-random content that could be, for example, TV transmissions. The reruns of "I love Lgrzbyliy", "I dream of Jaxcryghie", "Grysbypwn's Island", and "Leave it to Bzaqqrytir" collected to date are apparently hilarious enough that they are keeping them to themselves so far.

I read an article posted here a month or two ago saying that there was a huge scope or scope array planned or under construction in South America (Peru?). This instrument would be capable of resolving mountains on exoplanets.

Well, if you can push optical astronomy that far, why not look for artificial city lights on the night side?

Granted- you're limited to such planets as you can resolve optically, which is a tiny fraction of what's likely out there- but with capability expanding all the time...?

27
posted on 10/05/2012 2:57:54 AM PDT
by Riley
(The Fourth Estate is the Fifth Column.)

If humans were to build a Dyson sphere, we would use all the matter in the solar system, not just a little bit of the Earth. Except that in the Sun, of course. Jupiter alone is over 300x the mass of the Earth.

Besides astonishing physical manipulation capabilities, building such a thing would require the ability to transmute matter, changing it into other elements, and probably to manipulate matter on the nano scale in massive quantities.

Not presently known to exist material is strong enough to build into a Dyson sphere.

No presently known material is strong enough to build

28
posted on 10/05/2012 3:20:55 AM PDT
by Sherman Logan
(Perception wins all the battles. Reality wins all the wars.)

The SETI project has been looking for signals from nearby stars that exhibit some non-random content that could be, for example, TV transmissions.

Many modern radio transmission methods are purposely designed to appear as random noise. Unless a receiver knew the random sequence patterns in use they'd never know there was any intelligence to them.

LOL. Whenever I see such depictions, my first recommendation is to visit some website that shows our solar system TRUE TO SCALE.

Be prepared to scroll a lot. And watch out you don’t miss the flyspeck that is planet earth. All the silly notions expressed in this thread will go right out the door, then. (It might also cause feelings of loneliness and insignificance - don’t worry, that’ll pass.)

The usual condensed models that look so tidy are an extreme disservice to the general public.

If humans were to build a Dyson sphere, we would use all the matter in the solar system, not just a little bit of the Earth. Except that in the Sun, of course. Jupiter alone is over 300x the mass of the Earth.

“The Trouble With Bubbles” is a 1953 science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick. The story is set in a future where mankind has attempted to reach other intelligent lifeforms through space exploration, and found nothing. In light of this yearning to connect with other lifeforms, people can buy a plastic bubble known as a Worldcraft, the tagline of which reads “Own Your Own World!”. The owner of the Worldcraft is able to create a whole universe, controlling all the variables inherent to its development. Within the universe, lifeforms just like humans exist....

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